View source for Vero - Wikipedia:Merging

{{Short description|Wikipedia information page}}
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{{Infopage|H:M|WP:MERGE}}

A '''merge''' or '''merger''' is the process of uniting two or more pages into a single page. It is done by copying some or all content from the source page(s) into the destination page and then replacing the source page with a [[Wikipedia:Redirect|redirect]] to the destination page. 

Any editor can perform a merge. No permission or discussion is needed if you think the merge is uncontroversial; [[WP:BOLD|just do it]]! Otherwise, the merge should be first proposed and discussed, as detailed below. When performing a merge, remember to attribute copied content, as [[Wikipedia:Copying within Wikipedia#Attribution is required for copyright|required by Wikipedia's copyright license]]. At minimum, this means including <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline>Merged content from [[SOURCEPAGE]]</syntaxhighlight> in your [[Help:Edit summary|edit summaries]]. [[#How to merge|See how to merge below]] for details.

==<span class="anchor" id="Reasons for a merger"></span>Reasons for merging==
{{Shortcut|WP:DUP|WP:OVERLAP|WP:MERGEREASON}}
{{Redirect|WP:DUPLICATE|other|Wikipedia:Duplicate (disambiguation)}}
There are several good reasons to merge pages:

# {{anchor|Duplicate}}'''Duplicate''': There are two or more pages on exactly the same subject, with the same scope. If a duplicate article was recently created, it may also be a candidate for speedy deletion under [[WP:CSD A10|CSD A10 criteria]].
# {{anchor|Overlap}}'''Overlap''': There are two or more pages on related subjects that have a large overlap and might be [[WP:REDUNDANT]]. Remember, [[Wikipedia:Wikipedia is not a dictionary|Wikipedia is not a dictionary]]; there does not need to be a separate entry for every concept. For example, "flammable" and "non-flammable" can both be explained in an article on [[flammability]].
# {{anchor|Text}}'''Short text''': If a page is very short (consisting of perhaps only one or two sentences) and is, in your opinion as editor, unlikely to be expanded within a "reasonable" (unspecified) amount of time, it often makes sense to merge it into a page on a broader topic. 
# {{anchor|Notability}}'''Insufficient notability''': Some topics may not reach the [[WP:GNG|general notability guidelines]], or more specific criteria, so merging is an ''alternative to deletion''. While this can also be implemented through the [[WP:DISCUSSAFD|articles for deletion]] process, merging directly may be more efficient. For example, parents or children of a celebrity [[WP:NOTINHERITED|who themselves are otherwise unremarkable]] are generally covered in a section of the article on the celebrity.
# {{anchor|Context}}'''Context''': If a short article requires the background material or context from a broader article in order for readers to understand it. For example, minor characters from works of fiction are generally covered in a "List of characters in &lt;work&gt;" article (and can be merged there); see also [[Wikipedia:Notability (fiction)]].

{{anchor|NOTMERGE}}{{shortcut|WP:NOTMERGE}}

Merging should be avoided if:
# the resulting article would be [[Wikipedia:Article size|too long or "clunky"]];
# the separate topics could be expanded into longer standalone (but cross-linked) articles;
# the pages are category or templates, which should be discussed at [[Wikipedia:Categories for discussion|Categories for discussion]] and [[Wikipedia:Templates for discussion|Templates for discussion]] respectively.

==Procedure==
{{shortcut|WP:MERGEPROP|WP:BOLDMERGE}}

'''If the need for a merge is obvious, editors are encouraged to [[Wikipedia:Be bold|be bold]] and simply do it themselves.''' [[Wikipedia:Merging#How to merge|See how to merge below]]. Young or short articles and [[Wikipedia:STUB|stubs]] that only differ in wording should be merged immediately. Longer articles that have been separate for a long time are usually be discussed first, especially if they are about controversial topics. If the merge is difficult to perform or is potentially controversial, you can request assistance and feedback at the [[Wikipedia:Proposed mergers|Proposed article mergers noticeboard]].

While bold merges may be reverted entirely, the process and the [[Wikipedia:BOLD, revert, discuss cycle|discussion after the revert]] results in better articles. To start a merge discussion, perform the following steps.

===<span class="anchor" id="1"></span>Step 1: Create a discussion===
{{shortcut|WP:M1}}This is usually done on the proposed destination page's talk page. For example, if suggesting that [[Foo|Source page]] be merged into [[Destination page]], create a proposal in a new section at [[Talk:Destination page]]. If the destination does not exist, do not create its talk page.

Start a new section and include '''the list of the affected pages and a merge rationale'''. For example:

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">== Merge proposal ==
I propose merging [[SOURCEPAGES]] into [[DESTINATIONPAGE]]. I think the content in SOURCEPAGE can easily be explained in the context of this article, and merging them would not cause any article-size or [[WP:UNDUE|weighting]] problems. ~~~~</syntaxhighlight>

If the merge proposal was incorrectly started on the source's talk page, and the proposed destination is unambiguous and exists, any editor can move the proposal to the talk page of the ''destination'', to increase its visibility. Use the {{Tl|Moved to}} and {{Tl|Moved from}} templates.

Optionally, you can notify contributors to the pages involved. One way is to [[Wikipedia:Notifications#Notification messages|ping]] them in a comment on the merge proposal, such as <code>{{tlx|ping|User1|User2|User3|...}}<nowiki> Notifying contributors to the articles. ~~~~</nowiki></code>. Alternatively, create a new topic on those users' talk pages with {{tlx|Mergenote|PAGENAME|Talk:PAGENAME#Merge proposal|subst=true}}. Respect ''neutrality'' when making invitations to participate in the discussion; [[Wikipedia:VOTESTACKING|selectively notifying editors]] is not allowed.

===<span class="anchor" id="2"></span>Step 2: Tag the relevant pages===
{{shortcut|WP:M2}}To propose merging:
* '''two articles together:''' place {{tlx|Merge to|DESTINATIONPAGE|3=discuss=Talk:DESTINATIONPAGE#Merge proposal |4=date={{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} }} at the top of the source page, and {{tlx|Merge from|SOURCEPAGE|3=discuss=Talk:DESTINATIONPAGE#Merge proposal |4=date={{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} }} at the top of the proposed destination article or section.
** If you don't already know which article should be merged and which should remain, place {{tlx|Merge|OTHERPAGE|3=discuss=Talk:PAGE#Merge proposal |4=date={{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}} }} on ''both'' pages.

* '''many articles into an existing article:''' place {{tlx|Merge|OTHERSOURCEPAGES|3=...|4=target=DESTINATIONPAGE |5=discuss=Talk:DESTINATIONPAGE#Merge proposal |6=date={{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}}} on all the source pages, and {{tlx|Merge from|SOURCEPAGE1|SOURCEPAGE2|4=... |5=discuss=Talk:DESTINATIONPAGE#Merge proposal |6=date={{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}}} on the destination article.

* '''many articles into a page that doesn't exist yet:''' place {{tlx|Merge|2=target=DESTINATIONPAGE|3=SOURCEPAGE1|4=SOURCEPAGE2 |5=... |6=discuss=Talk:SOURCEPAGE#Merge proposal|7=date={{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}}} on each source page.

Always use the {{Para|discuss}} parameter to link to the ''same discussion''. Otherwise, two separate discussions could take place. If the parameter is not specified, the notices lead to the top of each article's talk page. In {{tl|Merge to}}, {{tl|Merge from}}, it always leads to the destination talk page, but it is still preferable to link to a specific section of the talk page. (When proposing a cross-[[Wikipedia:Namespace|namespace]] merge, these templates won't work.)

===<span class="anchor" id="3"></span>Step 3: Discuss the merge===
{{shortcut|WP:M3}}

Make sure to follow [[Wikipedia:Talk page guidelines|standard talk page guidelines]] and be clear and concise. Usually, a hybrid discussion/straw poll is used, but remember that [[Wikipedia:Polling is not a substitute for discussion|polling is not a substitute for discussion]]. Example:

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
* '''Merge''' – The article is too short. ~~~~
* '''Don't merge''' – The subject is notable. ~~~~
</syntaxhighlight>

===<span class="anchor" id="4"></span>Step 4: Determine consensus and close the merge discussion===
{{shortcut|WP:MERGECLOSE|WP:M4}}

During discussion, a [[Wikipedia:Consensus|rough consensus]] may emerge to proceed with the merge. '''Any user, including the user who first proposed the merge,''' may close the discussion and move forward with the merge if enough time (normally one week or more) has elapsed and there [[Wikipedia:Silence and consensus|has been no discussion]] or if there is almost unanimous consensus to merge. Closing of merge discussions differs from [[Wikipedia:Requested moves/Closing instructions#Who can close requested moves|closing of requested move discussions]] in that closings of uncontroversial merge discussions by [[WP:NACINV|involved users]] are allowed. Admin tools are not needed unless page protection prohibits editing. 

In more unclear, controversial cases, the determination that a consensus to merge has or has not been achieved should be made by an editor who is neutral and not directly involved in the merge proposal or the discussion. The discussion can be listed at the [[Wikipedia:Proposed mergers|Proposed article mergers noticeboard]] to attract the attention of more editors. If necessary, you can request that an [[Wikipedia:Administrators#Involved admins|uninvolved editor]] close the discussion at the [[Wikipedia:Closure requests|Closure requests noticeboard]]. {{Anchor|MergeReverse}} If a consensus is formed against the merge shortly after it was performed, it can easily be reversed.

To close a merge proposal discussion, the {{tl|Discussion top}} and {{tl|Discussion bottom}} templates are used. After closing the merge proposal discussion, remove all the {{tl|Merge}} templates from the source and destination pages.

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">== Merge proposal ==
{{Discussion top|result=The result of this discussion was... . ~~~~}}

I propose merging ...
: Rest of the discussion...

{{Discussion bottom}}</syntaxhighlight>

* If there is consensus to merge, add the {{tl|Being merged}} template to the source and destination pages:{{Pb}}<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
{{Being merged
| spacetype = "article" or "section"
| discuss = Talk:DESTINATIONPAGE#Merge proposal
| target = DESTINATIONPAGE
| dir = "to" or "from", depending if it is the source page or the destination page
| date = {{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}
}}</syntaxhighlight>
* If there is consensus against merging or no consensus, you can optionally place the {{tl|Old merge}} template on the corresponding talk page:{{Pb}}<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
{{Old merge
| otherpage = DESTINATIONPAGE
| result = '''No consensus'''
| talk = Talk:DESTINATIONPAGE#Merge proposal
| URL = https://permanent.link/to_the_discussion
| date = {{subst:CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{subst:CURRENTYEAR}}, or the date the merge was proposed
}}</syntaxhighlight>

=== <span class="anchor" id="PROMERGE"></span><span class="anchor" id="How to merge"></span><span class="anchor" id="5"></span>Step 5: Perform the merge ===
<!-- Note: This section anchor is directly linked from other article(s) and should not be changed -->
{{shortcut|WP:PROMERGE|WP:M5}}

The main reason that the merge backlog includes thousands of articles is because the people who support the merge neglect to undertake this final step. '''Any editor, including the editor who originally proposed the merge,''' is permitted to perform a merge in accordance with consensus. Merging pages does ''not'' require intervention from an administrator. To merge articles, follow the steps below.

# '''Copy''' all or some of the content from the source page and ''paste'' the content in an appropriate location at the destination page. If the source page contains any good content, copy it over instead of just redirecting it. Remove the {{tlx|Merge}} or {{tlx|Being merged}} templates from the article. Publish the edit, leaving an edit summary similar to the one below (linking to the source article is [[Wikipedia:Copying within Wikipedia#Attribution is required for copyright|required by copyright]]):
#:: <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline>Merged content from [[SOURCEPAGE]]. See [[Talk:DESTINATIONPAGE#Merge proposal]].</syntaxhighlight>
#: Ideally, do any necessary rearranging and copyediting in a separate edit, to simplify attribution. Copy and paste the content to transfer and immediately publish the page with the edit summary above, even if it duplicates some parts. (You can place {{tl|In use}} or {{tl|Inuse-section}} to let editors know you're currently working on it.) Then, edit the page a second time to clean it up.
# '''[[Wikipedia:Redirect|Redirect]]''' the source page whose content was just merged. To do this more quickly, you can install the [[User:SD0001/easy-merge|easy-merge script]] and follow the instructions on its documentation. To do it manually, replace ''everything'' in the source page with:
#:: <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline>#REDIRECT [[DESTINATIONPAGE]] </syntaxhighlight>{{tlx|Redirect category shell|{{tl|R from merge}}}}
#: Or, if you merged the content to a section:
#:: <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline>#REDIRECT [[DESTINATIONPAGE#Section]] </syntaxhighlight>{{tlx|Redirect category shell|{{tl|R from merge}}{{tl|R to section}}}}
#:Then publish your changes, using an edit summary such as:
#:: <syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext" inline>Merged content to [[DESTINATIONPAGE]]. See [[Talk:DESTINATIONPAGE#Merge proposal]].</syntaxhighlight>
# '''Reconcile''' talk page tags. If the source page has a talk page:
#* Move any previously added {{tlx|Merged-from}} and {{tlx|Copied}} templates to the destination page's talk page.
#* Reconcile the various {{tlx|WikiProject}} templates: copy them from the source page to the destination and remove duplicates (look out for alternative templates; e.g. {{tlx|WikiProject Software|2=Computing=yes}} is the same as {{tlx|WikiProject Computing|2=Software=yes}}).
# ''(Optional)'' '''Tag the talk pages''' with the relevant templates, for posterity. This action is perfomed automatically when using the [[User:SD0001/easy-merge|easy-merge script]]. To do it manually, place {{tlx|Merged-from|SOURCEPAGE|{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}}} atop the destination's talk page and {{tlx|Merged-to|DESTINATIONPAGE|{{CURRENTMONTHNAME}} {{CURRENTYEAR}}}} atop the source's talk page.
#: However, do not add them if the [[Wikipedia:MERGEAFD|merge is the result of an AfD discussion]] and the {{Template link|Afd-merge from}} template is already on the destination's talk page.
#: Experienced users can alternatively add {{tlx|1=Copied|2=from=|3=from_oldid=|4=to=|5=to_oldid=|6=to_diff=|7=date=}} to the top of ''both'' talk pages. This is especially useful to replace many similar merge tags and collapse them into one.
# ''(Optional)'' '''Fix''' any [[Wikipedia:Double redirects|double redirects]] found at [[Special:WhatLinksHere]]. A bot does this automatically, but it may take a day or two.
# '''Check''' for [[Wikipedia:Non-free content|non-free]] images (or other files). Examples: [[:File:The Hunger Games cover.jpg|a book cover]], [[:File:Dragon Ball Kai Poster Art.PNG|a poster]], a logo, etc. The description page of such an image will have a red copyright icon and a [[Wikipedia:Non-free use rationale guideline|non-free use rationale]] (a summary box with ''Non-free use rationale'' in the title, or a ''Fair use'' section) – the article title mentioned in such a rationale should be updated. This is required under the [[Wikipedia:Non-free content criteria|non-free content criteria]].

'''Note 1:''' Most merged articles are not good candidates for [[Wikipedia:History merging|merging of page version histories]] because they have been [[Wikipedia:How to fix cut-and-paste moves#Parallel versions|edited in parallel]] and the collation of their edit states would create unhelpful and/or misleading diffs. In most cases, [[Wikipedia:Requests for history merge|requests for a history merge]] should not be submitted.

==== Merge as a result of a deletion discussion ====
{{Shortcut|WP:MERGEAFD}}
{{Redirect|WP:MERGEAFD|the essays|Wikipedia:Merge what?|and|Wikipedia:AfD and mergers}}
In [[Wikipedia:Articles for deletion|Articles for deletion discussions]], editors may suggest that the [[Wikipedia:Deletion_policy#Merging|articles nominated for deletion be ''merged'']] to an appropriate article as an [[Wikipedia:Deletion policy#Alternatives to deletion|alternative to deletion]]. If there is a rough consensus for a merge at the end of a deletion discussion, the following template is placed at the top of the nominated article:
<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">{{tlx|Afd-merge to|destination article|debate name|debate closure date}}</syntaxhighlight>

Similarly, this template is placed on the destination article's talk page:

<syntaxhighlight lang="wikitext">
{{tlx|Afd-merge from|nominated article|debate name|debate closure date}}
</syntaxhighlight>
This informs users involved in those pages that content is to be merged as a result of a deletion discussion. It is the ''involved editors' job'', not the ''closing editors' job'', to perform the merge. Proceed in the manner described above. See also [[Wikipedia:Merge what?]], an essay encouraging not to just vote "merge" in AfD discussions.

==See also==
{{Merge progress|float=right}}
* [[Wikipedia:Proposed article mergers]] is a noticeboard for discussions about merging articles
*[[:Category:Articles proposed for merging]] lists pages that have been tagged for merging but haven't reached consensus
*[[:Category:Articles currently being merged]] lists pages with discussions closed with consensus to merge.
*[[Wikipedia:WikiProject Merge|WikiProject Merge]] was used to coordinate the clearing of the merge backlog.
{{Merge backlog}}

=== Merge templates ===
{{Main|Wikipedia:Template messages/Merging|:Category:Merge templates}}

{{Wikipedia:Template index/Merging/List|only merge=y|noheading=Y}}
{{PAM templates}}

===Other guides===
* [[Wikipedia:Splitting]]
* [[Wikipedia:Moving a page]]
* [[Wikipedia:Section move]]
* [[Wikipedia:Content forks]], on duplicated content in acceptable and unacceptable cases
* [[Wikipedia:Copying within Wikipedia]], more details on copyright issues
* [[Wikipedia:Merge and delete]], on deleting the source page instead of redirecting (to be avoided)
* [[Wikipedia:History merging]], in cases when changing page history is needed
* [[Wikipedia:Articles for merging]], a failed proposal for a different discussion process

{{Reflist}}
{{Help navigation}}
[[Category:Wikipedia maintenance]]
[[Category:Wikipedia merging]]
[[Category:WikiProject Merge]]